La Palma is a woman, France wins, Italy is out

The Palme d'Or 2023 is a woman (the third time in the history of the Cannes Film Festival, 76 years), "a change celebrated by seven directors in competition", as remarked by Jane Fonda who this evening gave it to Justine Triet, the director of Anatomie d'une chute, just 44 years old and already on the roof of the world of cinema. The first prize returns to France in a truly global edition and a palmares, decided by the jury led by the Swedish Ruben Ostlund, who also looked a lot to the East. Italy has remained outside, collecting the visibility of three films in competition - Rapito by Marco Bellocchio, now released in cinemas, Il sol dell'avvenire by Nanni Moretti also awarded by the box office and La Chimera by Alice Rohrwacher which will be released in autumn.

The competition of the 21 was of the highest level and there is no air of controversy. Justine Triet, who received a very long applause from the audience and called her actors on stage (including the magnificent Sandra Huller) immediately after to recover from the emotion made a firm protest against the pension reform and against the French government "which denied and repressed it in a resounding way". Not only that, Triet - who won the Palme two years after Julia Ducorneau of Titane who now sat on the jury - spoke of the "commodification of culture defended by the neoliberal government, about to break the cultural exception French. This same cultural exception that raised and formed me and without which I would not be here today, before you". The theme of women was the main feature throughout the festival, an unconventional observation of the complexity of women, a look at the feminine without stereotypes as was finally expected for a long time, proposed both by the many directors in competition but also by the directors. And the palmares and the evening testified to this. The same Anatomie d'une chute by Triet (will be released in Italy with Teodora) is a judicial mystery aimed entirely at a woman who must prove her innocence. A long wave, it should be emphasized started from Venice that awarded the Golden Lion to another judicial film, French also Saint Omer by Alice Diop.

"I would like to dedicate this award to all women who struggle to overcome the difficulties of existing in this world," said Turkish actress Merve Dizdar awarded for Les herbes sèches by Nuri Bilge Ceylan. The second most important award, the Grand Prix, went to the Englishman Jonathan Glazer and his dramatic The Zone of Interest on the banality of evil of a Nazi family living next to the wall of Auschwitz, based on the homonymous novel by Martin Amis who disappeared in the days of Cannes. "Thank you for amplifying cinema as only Cannes can," the director said. In an evening spun away between the emotions of the winners and some small stumbles (Ostlund blocked by Ducournau was announcing a prize instead of another, the godmother Chiara Mastroianni who at the time of the Grand Prix spoke of the Palme d'Or), the most shaken ever was the great German, Wim Wenders back with Perfect Days all shot in Tokyo (the globality that was said at the beginning): best actor, the Japanese star Koji Yakusho but to cry in the audience was him. Did age have anything to do with it? Wenders is 77 years old and was part of a silver fox movement that stood out for its longevity and exceptional durability at Cannes. After all, on stageor the king of horror Roger Corman who is 97 years old climbed up tonight. But the list was long: the silver Croisette featured Michael Douglas (78), Harrison Ford (80), Martin Scorsese (80), Robert De Niro (79), Ken Loach (86), Marco Bellocchio (83) Wim Wenders (77), Jane Fonda (85), Catherine Breillat (74). Among this year's graduates, Vietnamese director with French nationality Tran Anh Hung for La passion de Dodin Bouffant (director's award), Finnish Les Feuilles Mortes by Aki Kaurismaki (jury prize), Japanese Sakamoto for Monster by Kore-Eda Hirokazu (screenplay).